Marks and Spencer: Business Environment & International Strategy

This report provides an overview of Marks and Spencer's business environment, focusing on its organizational structure, the impact of digital technologies, and factors affecting international expansion. It highlights the company's flat organizational structure and its benefits for international growth, including decentralized decision-making and cost reduction. The report also addresses cultural, legal, and political barriers encountered during international expansion, emphasizing the importance of understanding local markets and regulations. Furthermore, it examines how digital technologies have facilitated globalization for Marks and Spencer by reducing costs, enhancing communication, and enabling online sales. The conclusion emphasizes the significance of a favorable business environment for maintaining customer relations and achieving global presence in the retail industry. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and resources for students.

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Organisational structure and functions........................................................................................3
Impact of digital technologies on international expansion.........................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION (Slide 2)
Business environment is considered to be a collection of internal as well as external
factors that are related to the employees, customer needs and their expectations. These factors
will affect the functions and operation to be performed within the organisation. Marks and
Spencer is British multinational firm that operates within the market of fashion retailing (Möller,
Nenonen and Storbacka, 2020). The business of the company is growing on physical store as
well as online platforms. This report deals with the organizational structure of Marks and
Spencer and the factors associated with affecting its business expansion on international grounds.
Organisational structure and functions (Slide 3)
Every working organisation has some goals that are important to achieve. This is done
with the help of resources and grouping certain activities within the company depending on the
requirements and specialisation. To attain these goals it is important for Marks and Spencer to
work with a proper organizational structure and attain maximum performance that matches with
the rate of change within the environment. Organizational structure of Marks and Spencer is
known to be flat with limited levels of management in between its administrative level and the
employees working in the front line (Cepel, and et.al., 2019). This structure of company allows
encouraging the employees within making decisions while contributing in decreasing
bureaucracy. It helps in developing the skills of employees that will authorize them to make
proper decisions. The less levels within the management positions helps Marks and Spencer to
adjust and evolve with the rapid changes as well as bring in ideas for finding the solutions of
certain problems within organisation. This is due to there is less amount of communication
between upper managers and base line employees.
(Slide 4)
There are a huge amount of employees working for the company and these individuals
are specialised in their own area of work. They will perform their task efficiently within the
departments of managing stocks, designing the layout of store, handling the marketing process
for company and finance department responsible for setting the budget and looking after the
company' s expenses. The organization has many franchise outlets overseas.

Benefits of flatter organisation in international expansion (Slide 5)
Organisational structure of Marks and Spencer is helpful in providing the guidance to all
of its employees and laying the reporting that governs the workflow within the company. The
structure of company makes it easy to add new positions within the company while providing the
flexible as well as ready means to grow. The flat organizational structure of Marks and Spencer
does not include any middle management that helps the company to grow while working with
ease and less resistance (Contractor, and et.al., 2020). This organization sis good and well for an
organization such as Marks and Spencer to decentralize the decision- making process while
maintaining corporate integrity. However, it is important that the final decision- making is done
at the executive level. It cuts the overall cost as well as speeds up the work done by the
organization.
(Slide 6)
Marks and Spencer has worked on expanding to international markets as the domestic
market was becoming saturated. With the help of diversification, company expanded and aimed
to have a global presence while having minimal political as well as economical risks.
Factors that affected international expansion (Slide 7)
Culture:
Cultural differences are the major source of issue when working in international markets.
It is important that the products and services from company are adding a value to the local
markets. It includes understanding the ways to conduct business in the local markets is very
essential for the company along with respecting the cultural differences (Debellis, and Pinelli,
2020). Company must invest more time and energy within the overseas venture and understand
the culture of host country.
(Slide 8)
Legal and political barriers:

Conducting business in an international market requires a flexible working space that follow the
local laws and regulations of the legislative guidelines. Company mus identify any hazards
within the operations of its business that might lead to cause barriers.
Stability of government is crucial for the business of the company to settle in well within
foreign market (Hashim, 2018). Some of the important aspects to be considered while having
business overseas includes the exchange rates for the host countries, access to the resources and
materials along with options available for communication as well as transportation.
Impact of digital technologies on international expansion (Slide 9)
Advancements in the digital technology have contributed in facilitating globalization.
Advancements in the digital technology has helped the company to reduce its costs involved in
transportation as well as building communications across various regions (Mukherjee,
Makarius, and Stevens, 2018). Information technology has reduced the barriers present in terms
of time and place while conducting business deals.
(Slide 10)
Technology allows buyers to have access to the products and services of the company and
perform transactions from any part of the globe. It is an important factor that have influenced the
expansion strategy of company. The technology used by Marks and Spencer is available to be
working where the company has active stores. It is an important factor that have influenced the
expansion strategy of company. The technology used by Marks and Spencer is available to be
working where the company has active stores.
(Slide 11)
Online sales are a major part within the internationalization process of the company. The
reduction in the cost of and working on the e- commerce and working on the e- commerce
platform has fundamentally changed the way business is conducted in this modern era. Digital
technology has helped the company in understanding the target markets while increasing the
business connections (Tallberg, and Zürn, 2019).

(Slide12)
Moreover, digital technologies have democratized the global consumption and assists in having a
wide data base related to the knowledge acquisitions within the foreign markets. Digital
technology has contributed in reducing the location dependencies and lead to help the company
in making decisions on proximity of customers rather than cost involved in production process.
CONCLUSION (Slide 13)
Business environment refers to the factors and forces that will influence the ability of the
firm to maintain good and satisfied customer base and relations. It can be seen that Marks and
Spencer is a company working in retail industry and working on global level. Organizational
structure along with the functions conducted within the company plays an important role in
facilitating international expansion.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Calabrese, M., Iandolo, F., Caputo, F. and Sarno, D., 2018. From mechanical to cognitive view:
The changes of decision making in business environment. In Social Dynamics in a
Systems Perspective (pp. 223-240). Springer, Cham.
Cepel, M., Belas, J., Rozsa, Z. and Strnad, Z., 2019. Selected economic factors of the quality of
business environment. Journal of International Studies.
Contractor, F.J., Dangol, R., Nuruzzaman, N. and Raghunath, S., 2020. How do country
regulations and business environment impact foreign direct investment (FDI)
inflows?. International Business Review, 29(2), p.101640.
Debellis, F. and Pinelli, M., 2020. Board interlocks in SMEs and the formation of international
joint ventures. Piccola Impresa/Small Business, (2).
Hashim, H., 2018. Application of technology in the digital era education. International Journal of
Research in Counseling and Education, 2(1), pp.1-5.
Möller, K., Nenonen, S. and Storbacka, K., 2020. Networks, ecosystems, fields, market systems?
Making sense of the business environment. Industrial Marketing Management, 90,
pp.380-399.
Mukherjee, D., Makarius, E.E. and Stevens, C.E., 2018. Business group reputation and affiliates’
internationalization strategies. Journal of World Business, 53(2), pp.93-103.
Tallberg, J. and Zürn, M., 2019. The legitimacy and legitimation of international organizations:
Introduction and framework.